Safety device for motor vehicles



Dec. 29, 1959 c. E. WEST 2,919,140

SAFETY DEVICE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES 7 Original Filed May 6, 1957 Fig.1.-

I 2 F1 .5. F1298. 5 26 Q m8 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Q Char/25E. Wesz,

ar a" United rates Patent SAFETY DEVICE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Charles E.West, Buffalo, N.Y.

Continuation of application Serial No. 657,238, May 6, 1957. Thisapplication May 15, 1958, Serial No. 735,423

4 Claims. (Cl. 280-150) This application is a continuation of myapplication Serial No. 657,238, now abandoned, and relates to a safetydevice designed and installable in a motor vehicle to restrain anoccupant of the vehicle in a manner .to prevent serious or fatal injuryresulting from the. occupants body being forcibly thrown against partsof the vehicle during a. sudden stop or a collision.

The safety devices heretofore provided have. been .objectionable in thatthey are more or less complicated and costly mechanisms which are eithernot adjustable or are difficult to adjust to suit the build of differentusers. and in that they have not been designed. to yield suificientlyunder predetermined forces to prevent. fatally injuring theuser.

The objects of the present invention are to provide vehicles with asimple, inexpensive, readily installable and adjustable safety devicewhich is adapted to engage and restrain a users body in a manner toprevent the serious and fatal injuries which. may result from forcibleimpact of the user's body with parts of the vehicle during a sudden stopor a collision; to provide a safety device which while light and strongis flexible andv will yield under predetermined forces thereagainst toprevent serious and fatal injuries;.to provide a .safety device with asimple, effective and readily operable means for adjusting and lockingthe device. in positions. to suit the buildof different persons; and toprovide a safety device with simple and inexpensive pivotal jointsallowing parts of the device to be secured. to a fixed part. and toadoor of the vehicle whereby opening and. closing, movements of the doorwill automatically position the device to .allow a user to enter andleave the vehicle.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic top view of. .a portion of a motor vehiclehaving the usual. seat, instrument panel and doors andequipped with the.safety device of the present invention, the position of the device forrestraining the user against. injury causingmovement being shown in fulllines, and a position for allowing. the. user to enter and leave thevehicle being indicatedin dOtand dash lines. i

Figure 2 is a schematic combined section. and side elevational view ofFigure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken about on the line 3-3 ofFigure. 1 and shows the; improved adjusting and locking means in anadjusted and.locked position. in full. lines. and. in its unlockedadjustment allowing position in dot and dash lines.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken about on line 4-4 ofFigure 1 and typifies the construction of the several pivoted joints ofthe device.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the adjusting and locking partsin separated relation to better illustrate their construction.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view showing how the male parts of theadjacent ends of the pair of rear members are each formed and pivotallysecured to the center rigid leg of the device.

Referring now to the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 schematically illustratea portion of a motor vehicle 10 having a seat 11 carried by the floor12, an instrument panel 13 and one of a pair of doors 14 all having. theusual relation one to the other.

.As shown in Figures 1 and 2 the vehicle 10 is equipped with the safetydevice 15 of the present invention which is preferably in the form of asomewhat double-U shaped tubular frame 16 having the rear end of itstubular center leg 17 and its tubular side legs 18, only one of whichhas been shown to simplify the drawing spaced and connected together bytubular members 19 to substantially span the space between the doors'14. The length of the legs 17 and 18 is such that when their forwardends are anchored to certain parts of the vehicle to extend rearwardlyand downwardly therefrom at a predetermined angle, the members 19carried by their rear ends overlie and are in spaced relation to theseat. With the frame 16 so positioned each of the tubular members 19 arepositioned to extend across the thighs and abdomen of a person seatedupon the seat 11 and during a sudden stop or a collision each act toresiliently restrain the resultant forward and upward motion of a personseated on the seat, thereby to prevent or greatly diminish the injurieswhich may result from a sudden stop or a collision.

In order to adjust and lock the frame 16 in positions for use by personsof different builds its legs 17 and 18 are each formed of an innertubular section 21 upon which an outer tubular section 22 istelescopically fitted and which may be slid thereon to provide thedesired position of the tubular members 19. Each of the sections 21 isformed with a row of alined, suitably spaced holes 23 to receive afinger 2 of a simple and effective device 25 swingably carried by theforward end of the section 22 and positionable to allow adjustment ofthe section 22 on the section 21 and positionable to lock the former onthe latter. The devices 25 each consist of a plate-like body 26 formedmidway between the reinforcing side flanges 27 with an oblong-ovateshaped hole 28 having the inwardly projecting finger 24 formed at oneof. its smaller ends and having a notch 29 formed at its opposite smallend. The notch 29 is formed to receive a tongue 31 which projectsforwardly from the upwardly and rearwardly inclined end 32 of theassociated section 22 and which has its forward end bent outwardly andforwardly as at 33 to retain the plate against removal when the section22 is telescopically mounted on the section 21. As shown in Figures 3and 5 the forward end of the section 22 abuts the rear side of theplate26 and due to the inclination of its end 32 allows the plate 26 tobeswung from the full line locking position to the broken line adjustingposition'of Figure-3. 1

When theplate 26 is in the inclined locking position of Figure 3- thewall of theh'ole 28 grips the section 21 and prevents forward movementof the section 22 and it will bev apparent. that a. forward: forceapplied to the section 22, as by forward pressure againstthe: tubularmember 19, will tend to cause further inclination: and increase thegripping. action. ofithe plate 26 on: the section 21.

Assuming that the sections are locked together by the plate 26 and adiiferent adjustment of the tubular member 19 is desired, the section 22is slid rearwardly, thereby releasing the gripping engagement of theplate 26 with the section 21 and thereby swinging the plate 26 into theplane shown in broken lines in Figure 3. The plate 26 is then raised todisengage its finger 24 from the hole 23 and is held in its raisedposition to allow making the desired adjustment which when made, thefinger 24 is inserted in a selected one of the holes 23 and the 3 plate26 is again swung to its adjustment locking position.

As stated above the forward ends of the legs 17 and 18 are secured tocertain parts of the vehicle. As shown in Figure 1 the forward end ofthe section 21 of the center leg 17 is secured in a flanged socket 36secured to the instrument panel 13 and the forward end of the section 21of the side legs 18 are each pivotally connected as by a novel hingeconstruction 40 to be described, to an extension piece 37 which may beseated and secured in a socket of a strap member 33 secured to the door14 by suitable fastening devices 39. Therear end of the section 22 ofthe leg 18 is also pivotally connected as by the hinge 49a to the outerend of the member 19 which has its inner end pivotally connected to therear end of the section 22 of the center leg 17 as by the hinge 40b andby another hinge connection 41 whereby when the doors 14 are opened thelegs 18 and the associated member 19 are moved to the dot and dash lineposition of Figure 1 to allow a person to enter the vehicle and sit uponthe seat and to leave the vehicle.

The construction of the novel hinges 40, 40a and 40b is essentially thesame as that shown in Figure 4 Wherein the body parts 42 and 43 of thehinge are formed of strong, light plastic material which may be furtherstrengthened by dispersing a suitable reinforcing material therein. The'bodies of the part 42 and the part 43 each have a semi-circular crosssection of a size to fit tightly in the end of the associated tubularsection and are each formed with a circumferential groove '44 into whichthe wall 45 of the section is forced to provide an interlock between thebody and the. section. As shown in Figure 4 the inner end of each bodymay be provided with a conically shaped recess 46 to lighten it and theouter end of the bodies 42 and 43 are respectively formed as male andfemale parts 47 and 48 of thehinge. The male part 47 carries a suitableball bearing 49 provided with an axle pin 51 whose ends project beyondthe bearing and are seated in alined blind holes 52 formed in theopposite walls of the female part 48 to complete the hinge. To providethe simple, easily fabricated and easily assembled hinges 40, 40a and40b their female parts each preferably consist of twin halves 48a and48b which are formed to allow their holes 52 to be engaged over theprojecting ends of the pin 51, thereby alining the assembled halvesprior to inserting and securing them in the associated tubular member.

The hinge connection 41 as shown in Figures 1 and 4 is provided, as byforming the male part 47 of the hinges 40b with complementary hingeforming projecting lugs 54 each having a central hole 55 alineable toreceive a hinge pin 56 formed to pivotally secure the parts 47 to therear end of the leg 17.

The axis of the pin 56 of the hinge connection 41 is located normal tothe axis of the pins 51 of the hinges 40, 40a and 40b to avoid bindingof said hinges during movements of the frame between the positionsdescribed.

It should be understood that the herein shown and described form of theinvention is intended to exemplify its principles and that variousmodifications of its component parts may be made within the scope of theappended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A safety device for motor'vehicles having a seat,

an instrument panel spaced forwardly of and above the seat and a door ateach side end of the seat comprising a double-U shaped flexible tubularframe, said frame being formed of a pair of flexible tubular rearmembers, each having its opposite'ends provided with a pivotalconnection for pivotally connecting said ends to the rear ends of anadjacent pair of the forwardly extending tubular legs of the frame, saidlegs each being formed of tubular rear sections telescopically fittedupon tubular frontsections for adjusting the length of the legs; meansfor locking each leg in an adjusted position, said means consisting of aplate swingably carried by the forward end of the rear section andformed to selectively intergage, embrace and grip the front section toprevent forward motion of the rear section, means for rigidly connectingthe forward end of the center leg to the instrument panel, and means forpivotally connecting the forward end of each of the side legs to one ofthe doors to support the frame in a rearwardly and downwardly inclinedposition wherein each of its rear members are positioned to extend inslightly spaced relation to and across the thighs and abdomen of aperson seated on the seat to restrain the person from the forward andupward motion resulting from a sudden stop or collision .and wherebyopening movement of the doors causes the associated leg and rear memberto swing forwardly and inwardly to a position allowing a person to enterand leave the vehicle.

2. A safety device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the locking plate isreinforced by side flanges and is formed with a central oblong-ovateshaped hole, a finger projecting inwardly fromone end of saidhole isformed for selective engagement in any one of a row of spaced openingsformed in the from section, said hole being shaped and of a size toallow the plate to be swung to a position wherein the wall of its holeembraces and grips the front section to prevent forward movement of therear section and to allow the plate to be swung to another positionwherein the finger is disengaged from the front section to allow thedesired adjustment of the sections. 7

3. A safety device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pivotalconnections include a cooperating pair of reinforced plastic bodymembers each formed to be partially inserted in and rigidly secured tothe end portion of one of an adjacent pair of tubular members, the outerend of one of said body members being formed to receive a reducedprojection of the other body member and to receive and retain theprojecting ends of a pin of a bearing carried by said projection,thereby to provide a suitable hinge action betweenadjacent tubularmembers of the frame.

4. A safety device as set forth in claim 3 wherein the first named bodymember is formed of twin halves to facilitate its assembly with theother body member and the inner end portion of each body member isformed with a conically shaped opening to reduce the amount of plasticrequired.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,322,755 Voorhies June 29, 1943 2,674,486 Alderfer Apr. 6, 19542,746,767 Evans May 22; 1956

